Cruise thru' limitless airspace

Published in The Daily Star
Section: Star City
Mon. February 16, 2004

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury

Explore limitless airspace with lightweight remote-control (RC) planes. Dive, roll, spin, glide, soar through the skies or drop down for a perfect landing. It's great fun.

"Anyone is likely to get hooked to this after flying his first RC plane," said Zabeer M Khan, as he flew his glider over Nikunjo area near the Airport Road.

Khan boasts 40 such RC planes and has taken air-cruising by glider as a hobby since childhood.

Skill, dedication and technical know-how are required to sustain such a hobby, says Khan, who completed his higher study in the UK and returned home to Bangladesh in 1997.

In the US, Canada and the UK, the hobby is popular among people of all ages and there are RC flying clubs, hobby shops and instructors thanks to the enthusiasm of RC flyers.

Khan wants to promote RC airplane flying in Bangladesh and has received good responses from enthusiasts.

When he flies planes in open areas, people watch him performing amazing stunts. "Some youths approached me and really wanted to fly such planes."

Having such a plane is only the first step to a major leap. Most people mistake the planes for toys, but flying such planes needs instructions.

"I got a plane at age 11, but I flew my first plane at 29," said Khan, managing director of Bengal Indigo, one of the leading denim manufacturers in Bangladesh.

Khan's planes did not fly on the first day and crashed numerous times, but his aircraft can now reach as high altitude as normal planes do because of his dedication and love for the hobby.

Beginners should stick to electric planes rather than fuelled aircraft, as plane crashes are usual of learners, he suggested.

A remote-control electric plane has three major components -- radio system, kits and the power system.

Says Khan, who built two RC airplanes out of foam: "If your plane crashes, you have to buy a new airframe with which your previous radio and power system must be compatible. It works perfectly."

He looks forward to opening the first ever hobby shop in Bangladesh, which will help the otherwise helpless flyers with information, airframes and radio system.

"I want the flyers to enjoy the thrill of flying an airplane first-hand, even if they do not buy it."

"I may hand homemade planes for free to visitors who come to the hobby shop," said Khan, who flies his planes every day, eliciting admiration from people.